ROUGEMONT, N.C. :: The CARS Super Late Model Tour Orange Blossom 300 at Orange County Speedway featured a thrilling finish between three competitors all the way to the checkered flag.
Such a scenario would typically result in bent sheet metal, bruised egos, and perhaps an explosive temper or two. Instead, eventual winner Christopher Bell, along with Raphael Lessard and Dalton Sargeant, raced each other cleanly, giving all three a fair shake at the victory.
Bell, Lessard, and Sargeant all shared kind words for each other, appreciative of the courtesy and respect demonstrated in spite of the pressures of competing against an incredibly tough field of Super Late Models.
“I knew the 99 [Lessard] was committed to the top,” Bell said in victory lane. “And the 55 [Sargeant] could move around a little bit more. Whenever I saw the 99 moved into second, I moved up and said if he’s going to pass me, he’s going to have to do it inside.”
“Luckily, they ran me really cleanly, with a lot of respect,” Bell continued. “That’s awesome. That’s all you can ask for as a driver. I’m really grateful that those guys ran me as clean as they did.”
Lessard acknowledged he felt his car was strong enough to take the victory from Christopher Bell, but he didn’t want to do it in a way that would harm his reputation and level of respect with his peers.
“Maybe I can move him a little bit, but I don’t race like that,” said the 14-year-old from Quebec, Canada. “I touched him one time, and that was just to let him know I was there. I think it is better to race like that because sometimes when you go too hard, the guys will do the same thing the race after.”
For Sargeant, the battle was a fun and thrilling experience en route to his podium finish.
“First off, it was just a blast,” said an excited Sargeant after finishing third. “Racing with those guys as hard as we were, and as clean as we kept it. It was really just a pleasure to race against them.”
Bell noted that, while this particular victory was hard-fought, there are rarely easy victories in stock car racing.
“Every win is hard to come by, so you better enjoy every one of them,” said Bell. “I’ve been really fortunate to sit in a lot of fast race cars. It’s made my job pretty easy. You’re only as good as the race car you sit in. I’m really thankful to Kyle Busch Motorsports and looking forward to a lot more success.”
The thrilling, clean battle speaks highly for the future of stock car racing. Bell was the “senior” member of the battle, at 21 years old to Sargeant’s 18 and Lessard’s 14. Despite their youth, the three drivers raced with the poise and composure of seasoned veterans.
